Lately I’ve been craving silence and solitude in a huge way. The way I craved liverwurst when I was pregnant. (I know, right?) So I hopped into my car and headed up into the Tonto National Forest near the Mogollon Rim. In an hour and a half, I can go from beige desert spiked with saguaro cacti to lush pine forests.
Rim country is amazing. The Mogollon (pronounced “mo-guh-yon”) Rim is an escarpment (a big word for a big cliff) that stretches across the state of Arizona. The land at the bottom of the rim is about 4,000-5,000 feet, and it rises in an instant to about 7,000 feet. It’s an understatement to say that the views of the Rim and from the Rim are spectacular.
There is a hike just outside of Payson called Horton Springs Trail. At the top of the trail (about 3.5 miles with a 1,000-foot climb) there is a spring that feeds Horton Creek. I have hiked along this trail many times, but never, over the course of about 16 years, reached the springs. This was due to various reasons—weather, young child in tow, whatever. I decided that this weekend I would finish the hike already and see the springs.
I left an ominously cloudy Tempe by about 9 a.m. Weather reports for Payson were equally ominous—40% chance of thunderstorms. The area gets a lot of thunderstorms in the summer. Rob earned himself the nickname “Lighting Rob” up there when he nearly got hit while filming a football practice up on a metal tower.
Payson lies along route 87 about 100 miles northeast of Phoenix. It’s a smallish community of about 15,000, home to the World’s Longest Continuous Rodeo and the Zane Gray cabin.
In Payson I turned east on route 260. This winding mountain road climbs a bit higher into tall pine forests with views of the Rim along the way. I was sad that I had to drive and pay attention to the road instead of the view.
About 15 miles east of Payson there is a sign for the Tonto Creek Fish Hatchery. There I turned left and drove about a mile to the Upper Tonto Creek Campground. There is parking there and signs to the trailhead.
It was raining when I arrived. It wasn’t pouring, but it was enough to be annoying, and didn’t look like it would let up anytime soon. I debated whether I should make the hike, and decided that with a sweatshirt and a plastic garbage bag to cover myself if it got too wet, I’d be okay. Thunder rumbled in the distance throughout my hike, but the lightning kept its distance. And the rain kept me perfectly cool.
The trail follows the creek pretty closely for most of its distance. There are lots of wonderful places to stop and rest and enjoy the sound of the flowing water. The trail is pretty popular, so I saw several other groups of hikers along my way. If you’re looking for total solitude, you won’t find it here, but for most of my hike I could not see or hear anyone but myself.
Towards the top of the trail I emerged into an opening with some spectacular views of the Rim, which was shrouded in clouds.
The Horton Springs Trail ultimately connects with the Highline Trail, which runs right along the bottom of the Rim for 51 miles. The spring lies at this junction, bubbling out from inside the rock.
I’ve seen this trail rated as everything from easy to difficult. I’d probably rate it moderate. You climb about 1,000 feet, and a lot of the trail is really rocky, but there are no severe climbs or narrow passes. I wouldn’t recommend it for young children, but if you are in good shape, it shouldn’t be difficult.
I spent the night at Kohl’s Ranch Lodge, which lies just across route 260 from the fish hatchery road. I’ll talk about my stay there in the next post.
--Diane
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